The Branch of the Mayre Bird
by ByEmiWithLove
Summary: Ten years had passed since that terrible day; ten whole years. He stands at the grave of his best friend whom he lost to a creek ten years ago today. She's not really there- they never found her body. Ten years after Leslie's death, twenty-year-old Jess travels back to his childhood home to visit his family and the grave of a beloved friend on the tenth anniversary of her death.
1. The Return

Ten years had passed since that terrible day; ten whole years. He stands at the grave of his best friend whom he lost to a creek ten years ago today. She's not really there- they never found her body. All they found was a broken rope and a bloody piece of fabric caught in a stone. But nevertheless, she was dead. He had hoped upon hope that maybe the police had it wrong; his best friend couldn't possibly be dead! But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, he knew it had to be true; she was gone.

The police said she had drowned, or hit her head on sharp rocks at the bottom of the creek, or perhaps both. To get across the creek, one must descend down a steep rock face and come back up on the other side which is equally as steep. There was a rope that they used to help them as they crossed. For some unknown reason, the rope broke and she fell. The way she died didn't really matter as much as the fact that she was indeed dead.

A single tear fell, then another, then a few more. Soon he wept aloud; there was none to hear him but the howling wind from the north and the grasshoppers that danced upon the graves of the long-dead war heroes, brides whose lovers left them desolate at the alter, old men and women, and infants who died in birth. She had been his best friend; his only friend at times. He cried for the memories they didn't have the opportunity to make together. He beat his breast because of the pain her death had caused to so any people. She didn't even realize that she touched so many lives in her ten, short years. So he cried. He cried for her, he cried for her family, and he cried for himself. He missed her so greatly! Only one who has felt the same loss (Or one of equal value) could understand the intensity of his heartache. No one else could fathom it.

It had been-how could it be - ten years already! He could remember them playing in the woods behind his house as if it were only yesterday. He remembered how she created a magical, make-believe land across the creek and through his father's field. They called it Terabithia. It was a beautiful, luscious land of mountains, rivers, plains, valleys, and an ocean on the Eastern coast. The creatures were, for lack of a better word (for they were truly indescribable), amazing. There were giant trolls and little dwarfish creatures called Terabithians. Nearly all of the fish were as clear as the water through which they swam, and in the caves in the far west were dragons. No one had seen them and lived to tell the story, but all knew that they existed. The sea was filled with the largest creatures- larger than the largest troll. There weren't any unicorns or mermaids like in the fantasy stories that children read. These creatures were not of the normal fairytale variety. These creatures were created by the mind of a ten-year-old girl named Leslie Burke.

Leslie was a talented writer and her best friend, Jesse Aarons, was a budding artist. Together they created the world of Terabithia. Jesse is now grown. He is an art teacher at the school he once attended himself. He strives to help Leslie's legacy live on by teaching children to use their imaginations. Jesse helped raise the funds necessary to build a new art center at the school and named it after Leslie. Today it is the Leslie Burke Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Leslie was a writer. She could dream a story, and then make it come alive in one's mind. She, though she herself would never claim it, was queen of Terabithia, and Jesse was king.

After Leslie's death, Jesse left behind his dreams and his wonderful land; it was as dead to him as she was. That is, until his sister, Maybelle, who was seven at the time, found a drawing of Terabithia in one of Jesse's sketch books and asked what it was. She thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Jesse realized that he could not let Terabithia die simply because her queen had. No one could replace Leslie, but a new ruler was needed. So Jesse built a bridge over the creek so they could both pass safely over it and within a few moths, Terabithia had a princess. Princess Maybelle reigned well in Leslie and Jesse's absence. After high school, Jess relinquished his claim to the throne and gave all to Maybelle; she would rule Terabithia alone. Maybelle grew up to be a kind-hearted girl who is loved by many because of her tenderness and the love she has for all people and things. She is truly a princess.

He laid the bouquet of lilies beside the grave and started his truck. Today is the day he finally returns. Today is the day he goes back to the place of his youth; the place where he was most happy. It is finally time for him to come back to the place where his dreams, and nightmares, became a reality. He will return to Terabithia.

He arrived at his childhood home at the perfect time: 1:00 P.M. There was no one at home to disturb his mission. His older sisters had grown up and moved away long ago, and there were only two children remaining in the household with his parents; His sister, Maybelle, who is sixteen and his sister, Joyce, who is twelve. Jesse ran with all his might through the field, across the bridge that he had built over the creek. He ran his hands over the ivy-covered railings; he could feel the air of Terabithia begin to envelope him in its nearly magical fragrance. He climbed the ladder to the tree house-no,-castle where he had spent many days drawing, playing, and defeating an unknown dark force. He stepped onto the outside porch, the balcony, and breathed in the air. Something was wrong. The air felt as it had before Leslie died. It felt light and happy; sweet and calm and more at rest than it had in ten years! "Why does the land smile? Why does the wind laugh? Why don't you mourn your queen, O Terabithia, on this, the tenth year of her departure? Must you mock her memory thus? Would you be so cruel as to forget her?" He exclaimed. He saw no person, but he knew that they heard, for the wind carried his words from the Eastern Ocean to the western plains to the southern desert to the northern mountains. All of Terabithia heard him, for to them, he was still king.

He pushed aside the purple curtains and went inside the palace. It was just as it had always been. There were roughly-carved chairs along with a crude table in the corner; the royal banquet hall. On the walls were pictures; drawings made by Jess and some by Maybelle. Leaves lay on the table beside a few books; some for drawing, and some for writing. Sticks were hanging by hooks on a wall; these were the swords which Jesse, Knight of Locust's Sting and Leslie, Knight of Troll's Foot defeated the darkness and the evil forces that once ran rampant through Terabithia, imprisoning its citizens. The hammock was propped up with sticks on either side and a sleeping girl was lying inside.

Jess, with a confused expression on his face, walked up to the girl and knelt down on his knees beside her. He studied her face; she was smiling in her slumber and she looked peaceful and almost like- Oh! His breathe caught in his throat as he realized that the sleeping girl looked almost exactly like Lilly, but older. She had long, blonde hair and she looked to be about twenty years old; the same age as him. It was only then that he had the thought to wake her.


	2. The Point of No Return

He gently shook her arm and her bright, blue eyes slowly opened. She yawned softly and sat up. She looked up at him and bit her lip. It was him; he had found her. He quickly stood up and helped her stand up as well. "Wh-who are you?" he asked.

She didn't answer immediately, but looked down at the wooden floor. She was nervous and didn't know how to tell him what he needed to know. Finally, she spoke. "I am a wanderer in the land. I have not seen the friends of my youth in these ten years. I did not see the light of day for seven years, for I was imprisoned in the days of my youth and did not taste the sweetness of the pleasures and freedom of youth in those years" Said as she as she walked to the table and sat in one of the chairs. Jess sat in a chair beside her and pushed the stack of books aside.

"I have finally come from my imprisonment into the land of light, yes; this very land. Those who cared for me during my young and tender years are now gone on to a land beyond this and shall never more return unto me. They have gone away, as I once had, but now I am here and shall never leave again. They, those dear and blessed people, thought me to be in the land of the shadows, but I have never gone there. They are now themselves in that land and now they know that I am not there also. I will tell you the story of my time in the land of darkness, that is, the land of my imprisonment. I will tell it in a story, so please try to understand." She took a deep breath, and began her tale.

"There was once a maiden who loved to create. She created many a world in the days of her childhood. In one world was a deep, treacherous ravine that one must cross to arrive at the castle." As she spoke, he was transported back to the days of his youth when he and Leslie played in the land of Terabithia. He saw the creatures come to life in his mind through his memories on one such trip, the girl, who was indeed the queen of that land, fell to her alleged death. She did not die, however, and the river carried her to another land which was a far way off. The land had a name; Rishbon. Rishbon is a dark country where nightmares are realities and there is no sun. An old woman found her lying on the rocky riverbed and rescued her. The girl was half dead by the time the old woman saved her, so the old woman took her into her house and nursed her back to health. Once the girl was well again, the woman, whose name was Luciana, told her that to repay her for saving her life, she would have to work for her for seven years." She closed her eyes as if reliving the painful memory.

"The land of Rishbon was bound by such a great darkness that the little maid could not escape from the woman and her house. She was forced to work for the woman for the full seven years. The darkness of Rishbon favors no one, however, and at the end of the seven years Luciana could bind the girl no longer. For, you see, the darkness only helps you for awhile. After some time, it will turn around and make you suffer also as the person on which you used the darkness suffered." She paused, as if considering this deeply, then continued.

"She ran as far as she could from that evil land, but she could not find the place of her birth. Perhaps the woman was a sorceress and had put a magic in her mind to make her forget of whom she had been born. No one will ever know, for the woman died upon her departure. A soul for a soul it was to her. She had taken her youth, so was taken from her her old age. The maid, by then a young woman, traipsed across the earth for a year before she awoke from her sleep. Her sleep was, of course, the terrible forgetfulness that had mysteriously come upon her. She then went back to the home of her parents. Her father had declined since her supposed death and he was close to his departure." A tear found its way down hear pale skin as she struggled to continue her story.

"She found him in his last hour of life and comforted her mother after his departure. He was able to see his only child before he went into the other land and was glad on the day he departed. Her mother departed soon thereafter. After she had had her time of grief, she left the home of her birth and came to the land of her happiness." A few moments lapsed before she began to speak again. This was it; this was the moment she would let her identity be known to him. After this, there was no going back.

"This is Terabithia, the land of dreams, the land of happiness, the land of hope and light. This is truly my homeland, the land where I belong. You see, the story was mine. You, my dear friend, are Jess, king of this land. You must, by now, know with whom you are speaking. It is I; Leslie. I have come from the depths of the land of darkness. That land is, in name, Rishbon. You thought me long departed; ten years today. But I am not yet gone on my departure." She said with all the feeling she had in her. She had not been able to say a word to him for so many long years. Spoken now, there was no return from this point.


	3. The Return of the Mayre Bird

"This is Terabithia, the land of dreams, the land of happiness, the land of hope and light. This is truly my homeland, the land where I belong. You see, the story was mine. You, my dear friend, are Jess, king of this land. You must, by now, know with whom you are speaking. It is I; Leslie. I have come from the depths of the land of darkness. That land is, in name, Rishbon. You thought me long departed; ten years today. But I am not yet gone on my departure." She said with all the feeling she had in her. She had not been able to say a word to him for so many long years. Spoken now, there was no return from this point.  
"It cannot be! How can it? Leslie has been departed from me these ten years. How is it that she should come back now? How can it be? You could not be her. You speak like her and you look like her, but how could it come to pass that my dearest friend should be alive and well after all these years? Are you, then, her ghost, perhaps? The spirit of her that has come after ten years to tell me what has become of dear, sweet Leslie now in the other land? That is, in the land of the shadows. It could not be a stranger- nay- it could not! She knows too much about this land and about the life of Leslie. The only explanation is that this here is the spirit of Leslie Burke." He said, trembling because of the cool wind, and because he did not know what to think of what was happening.  
"The air of Terabithia had been working on the two since they had arrived and they had started to remember the speech which they used in those early days as the king and queen of Terabithia, the shining city of light. Leslie had been there overnight, so it had longer to work on her than Jess, but it was moving upon them nevertheless. For it was true; the girl was Leslie. She was indeed the queen of old. Jess could not believe that after many seemingly unanswered prayers for his best friend to be alive that she really was and had been the whole time.  
"No, it is I. I am not a spirit! Look! Feel my hand; it is flesh and blood and bone. Oh! Can you not see? The land knows of my return. The air is lighter and the sun is shining more brightly. The waves in the Eastern Ocean are calm and the thunder from above does not disturb the sleep of the little creatures in their homes. The desert has rain; the mountains have flowers of snow and sun." She said, looking north toward the mountains.  
"These flowers are called Neve Amaranta. It is said that their seeds fall from the sky with the snow and are made to grow by a ray of sunlight dripping its juice onto the seed. They are the most beautiful flowers of all, but they grow in the far north where few have traveled. It is said that they bring healing and peace to the beholder of the flower. The flower had mysteriously stopped growing when the queen left, but were now again flourishing.  
"As she spoke, he began to see the mountains and the desert as if they were only a few feet away. He knew then that this was no spirit. "The land is happy for my return. Be then happy also; I have returned. What is more; I shall never leave this land alone to suffer again!" She exclaimed, walking onto the balcony and spreading out her arms across the land.  
"Terabithia, awaken! I have returned! Merry are your hearts and happy are your homes now that the great darkness- one greater than the one before- is gone fro your land. Come out, come out, my friends! Come, all you trolls! Come you little ones in the trees and under the dirt! Come those who soar through the air and those who swim in the rivers and sea! Come and see that I have come back and shall never more leave you and your land." She spoke the words like a queen, for she is.  
"Jess knew it was her and cried out with fervour, "Terabithia, your queen has returned!" He exclaimed, tears freely flowing down his face. He didn't mind that the Terabithians saw; they were crying too. Their beloved queen had finally returned to them.  
"There was then much joy and merry making and the creatures began to make gifts for the king and queen, as well as for each other. They prepared a feast and had a great celebration throughout the land to welcome back the king and queen.  
"After the celebrations were over, Jess took Leslie's hands and led her into the castle. He still had a few things to discuss with her. "I-I don't know what to say; You were gone for so long. I-I missed you so greatly!" He exclaimed when they were alone.  
""I know. I missed you too. I missed all of it. I missed this palace; this land, and you. I'm so glad to be back!" She exclaimed, giving him a much needed hug.  
"He returned the hug and spoke. "I'm glad you are back as well. I-I thought you were gone; never to come back. But now you are here; alive and well! I prayed and dreamed and wished and hoped for this day to come to pass, but for so long it never came and I gave up hope for it to ever happen. But now here you are. I am in awe of this occurrence. I'm so thankful!" He exclaimed, tears falling from his face onto the ground below.  
"She, by this time, was crying as well and wept aloud. They embraced once more before wiping away their tears and standing up. They turned around to see they the tears they had cried had turned into diamonds on the ground. In legend, the tears of those who are pure in heart who have suffered much would have their tears turned into diamonds. It was always thought that this was a figure of speech; that it meant they would have a good outcome through their pain. No one would have guessed that it meant diamonds in the literal sense.  
"They were amazed by this and stood there for quite a few minutes pondering it. It was a sign that things were once again at rest for the land of Terabithia. Suddenly, a Mayre bird (the cousin to the Nightingale) flew into the castle holding a small branch in its mouth. The branch had five small twigs growing out of it. The first was a dragon's scale from the great Western dragon caves. This showed that even the fiercest beasts were happy that the queen was back. The next was the petal of theNeve Amaranta from the northernmost mountain. This signified that the blessings of the sun had returned to Terabithia and that the mountains were no longer plagued by the sad rain, but now had light, happy snow covering their peaks. Another branch carried a glass bottle of pure water from the Eastern Ocean. The water was not salty, but pure and clean, showing that the land was pure, clean, and light. The fourth branch held sand from the Southern Desert. It was hot and wet from recent rain; showing that there was a growth in even the most barren parts of the land. The last branch held the winds in a little glass jar. The wind was swirling around inside the jar. This meant that the land was alive and happy now that the king and queen had returned. The branch signified that the land was united together and there was peace all around. All of these signs together meant that change had come upon Terabithia and it was good.  
"Jess looked at Leslie and smiled as she took the branch from the Mayre bird. She brought it to him and saw that he was looking at her. She smiled back and handed him the branch. They began discussing the significance of the branch and what it all meant for the future of Terabithia. They sat down at the table and began to talk about all sorts of things. Leslie once looked up at Jess and, for less than a second, maybe half a second, there was a glimmer in his eye. It was happy and peaceful and full of light and- could it be?- in that moment she saw maybe a hint of love in his eyes for her and for Terabithia. It was only there for perhaps half a second, but it changed the way she thought about everything in Terabithia thus far. Could he really love her? Now was not the time to think of acting on these things; they had only just been reunited. But who knows what the future holds. And so the adventures began once again.

...

Hey guys! Tomorrow is my 2 year anniversary on fanfiction! Yay! So in Honor of my anniversary, I'm posting the third chapter to this story! Yay! I don't have any more of this story written, but if you would like me to continue it, I will. Just review or send me a pm. Also, just review in general! Tell me what you think. :) have a wonderful day everyone! Loves!


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